Crossrail in numbers

Crossrail is among the most significant infrastructure projects ever undertaken in the UK. From improving journey times across London, to easing congestion and offering better connections, Elizabeth line will change the way people travel around the capital.

General Information

Crossrail Limited is delivering the Elizabeth line - a new railway for London and the South East, running from Reading and Heathrow in the west, through 42km of new tunnels under London to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east.

The Crossrail project is currently Europe’s largest infrastructure project.

The new railway, which will be known as the Elizabeth line when services begin through central London, will be fully integrated with London’s existing transport network and will be operated by Transport for London.

The Elizabeth line will stretch more than 60 miles / over 100km from Reading and Heathrow in the west through central tunnels across to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east.

Construction of the new railway will support regeneration across the capital and add an estimated £42bn to the economy of the UK.

Over 130 million working hours have been completed on the Crossrail project so far.

Increased capacity:

The Elizabeth line will transform rail transport in London and the south east, increasing central London rail capacityby 10%. This will reduce congestion and allow for more comfortable journey conditions.

Congestion at many London Underground stations will be reduced, even for those that are not on the Elizabeth line route – such as Oxford Circus.

Improved connectivity:

The Elizabeth line will improve connectivity: it will make it easier for businesses to move about London, to meet clients and negotiate with suppliers.

Moreover, the Elizabeth line will make accessing our major international gateways like London Heathrow more accessible - for instance, the journey time from London Heathrow to the City of London (Liverpool Street) will fall from 55 to 34 minutes.

The new railway will increase the number of people who are able to access employment destinations throughout London. This will enable businesses to access the people with the skills they need to be able to compete and succeed, and to open up new employment opportunities for individuals.

The Elizabeth line will bring 1.5 million more people within a 45 minutes commute of the existing major employment centres of the West End, the City and Canary Wharf (up from five million currently).

This improved connectivity will also be designed to help people with restricted mobility. The new stations will have step-free access from platform to street level and for the majority of interchanges with other London Underground and national rail services: 95% of journeys are forecast to have a step-free origin and destination station.

Tunnelling Information

For just over three years, eight giant tunnel boring machines burrowed below the streets of London to construct 42km of new rail tunnels.

Each tunnelling machine was 1,000 tonne, 150 metres longunderground factory with 20 person ‘tunnel gangs’ working in shifts around the clock between May 2012 and May 2015.

The fastest day of tunnelling by a single machine was 72 metres by Ellie on 16 April 2014 between Pudding Mill Lane and Stepney Green. Crossrail tunnelling progressed at a collective average of 38 metres per day.

Over 200,000 tunnel segments were used to line the 42 kilometres of tunnels.

Limmo to Victoria Dock Portal (Drive G) - Tunnelling machines Jessica and Ellie have also completed their second tunnel drives - a 900 metre drive from Limmo Peninsula in Canning Town and Victoria Dock Portal.

Plumstead to North Woolwich (Drive H) - In south-east London, tunnelling machines Sophia and Mary have completed their 2.9km drives from Plumstead to North Woolwich.

Over 3 million tonnes of excavated material from the tunnels was shipped to Wallasea Island in Essex to create a new 1,500 acre RSPB nature reserve.

Crossrail, Jobs and Supply Chain

Over the course of the project, we expect there to be at least 75,000 opportunities for businesses, generating enough work to support the equivalent of 55,000 full time jobs.

It’s not just London and the South East that will benefit from Crossrail. Firms right around the country and of all sizes are winning business:

96% of contracts have been awarded to companies based within the UK

62% are outside London

62% are small and medium sized businesses.

44% of small and medium sized businesses said they made new contacts because of their work on Crossrail.

Skills and Legacy

More than 1,000 apprenticeships created by Crossrail Limited, Network Rail, Bombardier Transportation and MTR Crossrail during delivery of the Crossrail programme.

20,000 people received training at the Tunnelling and Underground Construction Academy in Ilford, which has now been taken on by Transport for London.

More than 5,000 unemployed and local people employed thanks to a partnership between Crossrail contractors and Jobcentre Plus.

Over 40,000 students taught about the project and engineering through the Young Crossrail programme that partnered with local schools along the route.

The Tunnelling and Underground Construction Academy (TUCA) is a purpose-built training facility that supports the key skills required to work in tunnel excavation, underground construction and infrastructure.

Crossrail established an accredited Tunnel Safety Card (TSC) in response to an industry need for standardised tunnelling health and safety training.

Sustainability

84% of construction machinery in the central section were fitted with pollutant reducing emission controls

98% of material excavated from sites was beneficially reused

96% of the contracts awarded by Crossrail were to UK companies with 62% of suppliers based outside London.

Property Impacts

Research undertaken by property consultants GVA shows that the Elizabeth line is a major catalyst for regeneration across London and the South East

The Elizabeth line will reinforce London’s status as a global city, allowing for the accommodation of 300,000 new jobs in key employment hubs

Outside central London, town centres including Ealing, Woolwich, Ilford and Romford are being rejuvenated as the construction of new homes and offices attract more businesses and residents

90,599 new homes along the route are predicted by 2021 and 180,000 by 2026

Crossrail integrated the designs for 12 major property developments over and above the new Elizabeth line stations in London to create over three million square feet of high quality office, retail and residential space, and generating over £500 million towards Crossrail‘s core funding package